Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

An origin story set in present day San Francisco, where man's own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.

The film is a reality-based cautionary tale -- a science fiction/science-fact blend where mankind's hubris leads to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy. Oscar(R)-winning visual effects house WETA Digital - employing certain of the groundbreaking technologies developed for "Avatar" - will render, for the first time ever in the film series, photo-realistic apes rather than costumed actors.

We have no say in who will get the job, of course, but that doesn't mean we won't chime in anyway. Below Sean and I discuss who we think ought to get the Rise job, whether the studio's rush will doom the film regardless, and whether we're interested in seeing another Apes film without Wyatt on board

early a year later, the movie that looked like a surefire summer flop now has me anxiously awaiting a sequel, and though there's been little word of progress on it so far, we've got some good news to share today

While the Ninja Turtle movies of the 90s were live-action as well, Jonathan Liebesman’s movie might give the gang a more hi-tech look. When throwing out the idea of the turtles being non-human creatures, but with an authentic look along the lines of a Harry Potter character, Liebesman corrected me by explaining, “I think for turtles you’d look at Rise of the Planet of the Apes, you know, that kind of stuff.”

Now as the Oscar announcements draw near, leave it to Funny or Die to remind us of Serkis and his pioneer performance work with a new comedy short called, "The Future of CGI." Here comedians Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel display their GCI-specific acting skills, while interviews with blockbuster directors Michael Bay and Jon Favreau explain how these performers are so crucial to the evolution of moviemaking.

Back in 2001, Tim Burton spun a straight-up remake of the original Planet of the Apes, starring Mark Wahlberg in the astronaut role made famous by Charlton “Damn Dirty Apes” Heston. It was, as you may recall, not very good. It didn’t really improve on the original, and in its attempts to put a new spin on the movie’s infamous twist ending, it instead wound up being merely nonsensical.

Even at the end of July I never, ever would have guessed that August's big release, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, would go on to become not just one of the summer's biggest hits, but one of it's legitimately best movies, and one that immediately screamed for a sequel, even though its a prequel to one of the most famous film franchises of all time

The rumored plans are to have Rise serve as the first of a new Apes trilogy. Many of the core crew were already signed on for a potential sequel, including director Rupert Wyatt and screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. One person who wasn't already signed on for the next one? Andy freakin' Serkis

Did anybody expect Rise of the Planet of the Apes to be any good? I know I didn't. While the newest Apes flick featured a solid cast, including James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, and Brian Cox. Even more exciting was the involvement of motion-capture wizard Andy Serkis in portraying Caesar, the ape whose artificially accelerated intelligence starts all the trouble in the first place. Still...it was Planet of the Apes, not a franchise with an auspicious record in recent years.

For decades, Hollywood’s go-to move when it came to extending the life of a popular franchise was greenlighting a sequel. But with lackluster installments like Lethal Weapon 4, The Matrix: Revolutions and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull-- among many, many others-- methodically killing the strategy over the years, something had to change

Needless to say, the decision probably pays off for Fox, which has a huge hit on their hands in Rise. The sci-fi prequel has earned an estimated $409 million at the international box office, and should command a follow up picture – providing writers can figure out how a sequel would fit into the cannon of pre-existing Apes films. And thanks to a last-minute decision, Franco will be able to participate in the ape insanity

You can always tell when the end of summer has arrived. Hollywood begins dropping off all the cinematic bombs they knew weren't going to do very well hoping that people tired of seeing major blockbusters for the umpteenth time might just buy a ticket for the sake of trying something different. But that strategy was a no go this weekend as four new comers hit screens. The sound of those suckers bombing in theaters across the country sounded something like a London air raid from World War II.

Three other new releases hit screens this weekend, but none could bump Caesar and his rebellions apes from the number one spot. Rise of the Planet of the Apes swung into the triple digit club earning an additional $27 million to top $104 million.

The fact that they've planned for three films is promising, though, indicating that the world established by Rise is also one with a firm end point, and no potential to wander endlessly around mythologies that nobody cares about. Then again, we would have said that about the Pirates trilogy

Serkis will never be nominated for this role. Based on a very informal poll on our Facebook page it seems many of you agree with me that he should be, and think he was overdue for a nod as Gollum anyway. But the reason Serkis will be snubbed again is a pretty simple one

How many monkeys...sorry, apes...does it take to make a Planet of the Apes prequel? About $93 million worth. And that's a small price tag for a movie where a vast majority of the shots include at least one, and often dozens, of CGI chimps, gorillas or orangutans. And it's partly thanks to that relatively modest budget that Rise of the Planet of the Apes can expect to become a profitable movie this summer. The film banked a solid $54 million as the number one entry this weekend.

Planet of the Apes is back in theaters this weekend for the first time since Tim Burton made a monkey out of Lincoln back in 2001, with the prequel Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The movie tells the story of how the ape run world depicted in the 1968 Charlton Heston movie came about, and as it happens, it’s all James Franco’s fault.

While I will admit to initially having doubts about the project, the buzz surrounding Rise of the Planet of the Apes is incredible. Reviews have already started popping up around the internet and the film is receiving near universal praise. At the center of it all is the work done by Weta Digital and star Andy Serkis, both of whom are actually starting to get Oscar buzz for their work on the film.

Another big week for the big screen. We’ve got a couple of monkeys running around f#$%ing everything up and also the new Planet of the Apes movie is coming out. Just remember, I'm not reviewing these movies, but rather predicting where they'll end up on the Tomatometer.

I’m having a hard time taking photorealistic chimps run amok seriously, in most of the footage from Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Maybe the Fox marketing team has sensed that as a problem, because yesterday at Comic Con they unveiled two minutes of wall to wall angry Ape attack footage from the film.

This afternoon 20th Century Fox will be making one of the biggest presentations yet in Hall H, giving the world our first look at Ridley Scott's next film Prometheus in addition to new scenes from this summer's Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Last night an extended clip from Rise of the Planet of the Apes was released online and basically sold me on the film. While I had only been minimally interested by the trailers, the emotional element finally came out in the four minute scene and it finally gave audiences a look at the full range of feelings that can be expressed by Caesar, the entirely-CGI chimpanzee played by Andy Serkis.

Chimpanzees are some of the most incredible animals on earth. In addition to being the closest relative to humans, they form societies, know how to use tools, and have highly developed language centers and the ability to express empathy. But while that may all seem nice, it's probably best if you avoid pissing them off. Just ask the dude in this clip from Rupert Wyatt's Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

The latest international poster isn’t drastically different from the last one, with head ape Caesar (played through motion-capture brilliance by Andy Serkis) rallying his silver-backed brethren for a hostile takeover of our planet … starting with San Francisco. You can’t miss Northern California’s most recognizable landmark

Be warned that the trailer gives away way more than you probably need to know. It looks impressive, and the motion-capture performance Andy Serkis gives as Caesar continues to be stunning, but there seems to be a lot more plot revealed here than absolutely necessary. If you dare, take a look below

Watching it you don't even get that it could be a Planet of the Apes movie until the very end, and I like that-- but in this day of movies needing to be pre-sold within an inch of their life, that kind of mystery won't necessarily draw eyeballs. Thus the clunky but definitely recognizable title

Using motion-capture technology to allow Gollum himself, Andy Serkis, to play the leader of the ape revolution Caesar, the film looks to follow the origins of the giant revolution that leads to, well, the Planet of the Apes. Check out the trailer below to see what kind of awesome technology we're talking about

At the end of the live broadcast from WETA Studios in New Zealand this afternoon, a promise was made that the first trailer for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, due out this August, would arrive online tomorrow. Well, with the turn of the clock from 11:59 pm to 12:00 am, here in Los Angeles, CA, it's now April 14th and we have the first trailer for the Rupert Wyatt-directed film.

Earlier this afternoon, the folks over at 20th Century Fox and WETA hosted a live stream channel to discuss the upcoming Planet of the Apes prequel, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which is due out this August. In addition to having members of the VFX team and star Andy Serkis on to talk about the film...

On Monday there was an announcement that Fox and Weta Labs will be premiering both footage and a live chat with the special effects creators of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, due out this August, on Wednesday, April 13th. Well, check your calendar, folks, because the video chat has begun.

Of course the clip shows us very little, and doesn't even specify whether this is the lead ape Caesar, played by Andy Serkis, or an entirely different creature. I guess that's part of the point-- tease us with some very good-looking CGI, then start giving away the details later

For some reason these days the studios are getting tripped up between their own attempts at brand identity and a smidgen of creativity, resulting in movie titles that are horrible mashups of words and numbers and ideas that wind up meaning absolutely nothing, even to the audiences that supposedly love these franchises

There is only one reason why a prequel to Planet of the Apes is coming out this summer: people know what Planet of the Apes is and the studio wants to capitalize on a known brand. Unfortunately, though, it would seem that some people couldn't make the connection between Rise of the Apes and Planet of the Apes, so Fox has decided to rename it.